The Son of Hircine
by J. APPLEGATE
Summary: In the midst of the Oblivion Crisis, a young Redguard child's destiny is changed forever when he finds himself in the Huntsman's embrace. This is the story of Kole, the Son of Hircine. (Prequel to "The Nerevarine's Return")
1. Chapter 1: The Gate

**CHAPTER ONE: THE GATE**

**Constance**

Constance sat alone in the living room of her small wooden house, patching a hole in the pants belonging to her young son. According to the imaginative five-year-old, the pants had been torn the day before by an ogre who had strayed close to their home. Kole and his puppy, a grey hound with black spots he named "Wolfy", chased it back to the mountains north of Bruma before it could do anymore damage to his clothes.

"Sure you didn't rip them on your own?" she asked after he completed his wild tale half an hour earlier.

Kole shrugged. "Maybe." He suddenly whipped out his wooden toy sword and brandished it in a heroic stance. "I guess I _might've_ done it when I chased the monster away."

Wolfy barked and took up a similar stance next to Kole.

Constance smiled and ruffled the child's dark curly locks. He responded with a joy-filled giggle before changing into fresh clothes and running back outside to defeat another ogre.

"So courageous," she said to herself after repairing the small pair of trousers. "Just like his father."

Constance exhaled deeply, trying to re-collect her emotions before they escaped from her control. Baurus, her husband and Kole's father, had last came home two months earlier with tragic news that confirmed the rumors she had been hearing before his return.

Uriel Septim VII was dead.

He had blamed himself entirely for the Emperor's assassination. Baurus had been a personal guard of Uriel; one of the highest positions a Blade could be granted and the most important, despite him being one of the youngest Blades. Constance had been unable to keep him from beating himself up over it, even though she had constantly reassured him it wasn't his fault.

Kole had made his father's return much better, however. Baurus had brought a puppy that would later be named Wolfy and the wooden sword that Kole now carried with him everywhere. All of Baurus's guilt and sorrow had seemed to fade when he interacted with his son.

Baurus had only stayed for a couple days, having mentioned something about hunting down members of the cult behind the Emperor's death. He had left for Cloud Ruler Temple very early in the morning without saying goodbye.

Five days later she had heard about the Oblivion Gate that opened in Kvatch and how the city was razed to the ground by the Daedra that had poured out of it; about a week later news spread that a brave Nordic warrior had closed it and cleared out the city alongside the remaining guards.

That Nord, whose name never seemed to be mentioned by anyone, was dubbed the "Hero of Kvatch."

"Mommy, what's wrong?" a young yet concerned voice asked. Constance turned her head to see Kole staring at her from across the room with a worried expression. It wasn't until then that Constance realized she had been lightly crying.

While wiping away her tears she continued to look at Kole, noticing for what felt like the millionth time how much he resembled his father. He was practically an exact replica of Baurus, only younger. They shared the same medium brown skin tone and warm, inviting brown eyes. His hair, however, was curly like Constance's.

"Nothing sweetie," Constance lied.

Kole gave her a skeptical look before running up to her and wrapping his arms around her in a loving embrace. "Is it about Daddy?"

_I can't hide anything from you, can I? _"Yes, Kole. Sometimes it's hard to be away from him for so long. If I didn't have you, I fear I would go crazy."

"I love you too," Kole said, nuzzling deeper into his mother's chest.

She held him for a few more minutes, only letting go when she heard his stomach rumble. Constance had to catch herself from cursing in front of Kole when she realized she had neglected to make dinner. She quickly threw together a simple stew and gave plenty to Kole until he looked like he would burst.

After eating, Constance gave Kole a bath. His face was covered in mud so she had to scrub extra-hard there. Wolfy watched from a distance, as if half-expecting a bath himself, while Kole splashed around and soaked the floor underneath him.

Constance dried him off and put him to bed at around ten at night. He fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow. _Must be tired from chasing ogres. _She smiled at the thought as she left his room. Wolfy was curled up at the end of the bed on top of Kole's feet.

She sewed a new button onto Kole's coat where "a savage wolf" had stolen the previous one before retiring to her bed. Constance lay down on the left side of her large bed, and though she had grown accustomed to it, she felt lonely on the large mattress by herself.

* * *

_Dear Baurus,_

_I do not know when you will receive this, nor do I know if you've received the other three letters I've written since you left. I hope you're well. Kole and I are, though sometimes I wish we didn't live so far north of Bruma. The two hours of walking tires him out, and usually we return back home the same day. He's had such an isolated life with no one to talk to but me, except for whenever you are home._

_He and that dog you brought him are closer than you and I. I feel happy for him about his love he has for Wolfy, but sad at the same time because of the gap between us._

_Kole is acting and looking more like you every single day. He carries that sword with him everywhere he goes. He's slain monsters and conquered armies with it, though he is usually too modest to brag about his achievements._

_I'm sure he'll want to follow in your footsteps once he is older. Perhaps you can train him yourself, in between your assignments. He hasn't shown any magical abilities, so it's possible he has inherited my inability to cast spells. Or maybe he is just a late bloomer._

_Either way, at least I won't have to worry about him burning the house down anytime soon._

_An Oblivion Gate appeared a couple miles south of Bruma sometime last week, if you weren't already aware. I know you were raised in this house, but I fear for Kole's safety. Should any more gates open up near here we'll have to flee. If we cannot be kept in Cloud Ruler Temple I'll take Kole and myself to my sister in Chorrol._

_Please come home soon, or at least write back. I can hardly stand not knowing if you are dead or alive._

_With all of my heart,_

_Constance _

* * *

Constance re-read her letter several time to ensure she had written down everything she want to say. She had spent most of the morning working on the letter, having restarted it several times.

This one, however, was more or less perfect. Constance folded the paper and tucked it into an envelope labeled "Baurus".

_I'll deliver this to Olaf tomorrow. _Olaf was one of the undercover Blades posted in Bruma. He had accepted her letters to her husband in the past and would most certainly do it again, for a modest fee. _At least, I hope he's been delivering them. _

The door in front of her flew open and Kole came charging through the doorway from the outside world. He was grasping the right side of his face with blood covered hands. His eyes were red, likely from crying. He tried to look unfazed but was doing a poor job.

"What happened?!" Constance asked as she knelt down in front of him with a clean cloth to wipe away the blood. She moved his hands and saw his wound stretched down from the middle of his check down to his jaw. The scratch was jagged, almost like a lightning bolt had been etched into his flesh. She thanked the Divines that it didn't look too deep, but Constance suspected he would have a scar there for the rest of his life.

"I found a small monster across the road," Kole began to explain. He flinched each time Constance put pressure on his cheek but he didn't cry out. "I walked up to it and it scratched me. It laughed at me and licked its claws, so I killed it with my sword."

"What did it look like?"

Kole pointed at Wolfy. "Like that."

Constance turned to the dog and nearly jumped. At the dog's feet was a small, ugly creature with bright red skin and small horns that were attached to its skull. Splinters were stuck in its head, which was bloody and mangled from being hit with Kole's sword.

She immediately recognized it as an scamp, a Daedra from Oblivion.

"Where did you find that?" Constance asked slowly.

"Right across the road," Kole answered.

Constance peered over her son's shoulder through the open door to look outside. It was then that she noticed the sky and everything under it had an orange tint—a tell-tale sign of an Oblivion Gate.

Hoping that she was wrong, Constance looked further away to see if her suspicion was right. She gasped when she saw the massive portal into Oblivion sitting in front of the woods north of her house. She could only see the bottom half of it but could easily tell it was massive in size—at least double the height of the largest tree behind it.

Every couple of seconds a Daedra would step out of the gate. Most of them were scamps; a few were more humanoid in shape with red skin and heavy black armor. Constance couldn't recall the name of that type of Daedra, but that wasn't a major concern at the time.

Kole looked over his shoulder and stared at the portal, seemingly noticing it for the first time as well. "Mommy, what is that?" he asked when his eyes returned to his mother.

Constance ignored his question until she had a bandage properly applied to his cheek. "It is a bad thing, Kole. It is a door to a bad place."

"Did the monster come from it?"

She nodded. "There's going to be more monsters coming for us. We only have a little bit of time before they find us. We don't want them to find us."

Kole's eyes shone with immediate understanding, despite his age. "Or they will kill us."

For a brief second, Constance thought about lying to Kole so that he'd be less scared. She dismissed the idea, knowing that he was too smart to be fooled. "I will do everything in my power to keep that from happening. But we have to leave now."

"Okay," he said with determination. Again Constance couldn't help looking at her son and seeing a young Baurus in his place.

"Shut and lock the door," she ordered. Once he did so she said, "I will be right back and then we will leave for Bruma. Do not move unless the monsters get in; hide if that happens."

Constance sprinted to her room as fast as her legs would allow. Once there, she retrieved a sheathed iron longsword from under her bed and strapped it to her waist. She then reached into her closet for her fur coat and pulled it over her dress as she ran back to Kole.

Kole was standing exactly where he had been before, only now he was holding a kitchen knife in his right hand. Constance wasn't very keen about him carrying an actual weapon rather than his toy sword, but they both knew the situation called for it.

Wolfy, like always, stood at the boy's side. Even though the dog wasn't fully grown, he looked more ready to fight than either Kole or Constance.

"Are you ready?" Constance asked. Kole silently nodded. She moved towards the door, unlocking it slowly before placing her hand on the knob. She turned back to Kole and whispered, "stay low to the ground and as far to the left side of the road as you can. Listen to all of my instructions as quickly as possible. Do not make any loud noises. Understand?"

"I do," Kole answered in a tone even quieter than hers.

Constance exhaled deeply before twisting the doorknob. She opened it just enough to peek outside. All of the Daedra she could see remained within close proximity to the gate. As far as she could tell, the imp that had attacked Kole had been the only one that ventured far from the gate.

Cautiously she pushed the door completely open. After looking to the left and right and finding nothing, Constance urged Kole to follow her outside. They both tip-toed in a crouched position to the snow-covered road. While maintaining a constant watch on the Oblivion Gate, Constance began leading her son and Wolfy in the direction of Bruma.

Constance glanced over her shoulder to check on Kole. His attention seemed to be fixed on the left side of their house in the form of a frightened stare. She followed his line of sight—

—and barely rolled out of the way of a fire bolt. Six Daedra—four scamps and two humanoid Daedra—were racing towards them from behind the house.

She returned to her feet as fast as she could and charged back towards the house. "Come on!" Constance cried out to her son as she grabbed his empty hand and dragged him to the house.

Once she, Kole, and Wolfy were inside the kitchen, Constance slammed the door shut and locked it—placing her back against it to add even more support. Seconds later a barrage of pounding and yelling in an alien tongue started on the opposite side of the door.

"Let's kill them!" Kole shouted above the noise.

"We can't!" she yelled back. "They're stronger than us! We have to hide; it's only a matter of time before they get in or burn the house down."

"What do we do?" Kole asked frantically.

Constance racked her brain for an answer, trying to think of somewhere to hide. _Under the table? No, that's too obvious. Under one of our beds? No that's just as bad! Maybe we can sneak out a back window? But what if there are more Daedra there?_

_The basement! _

Again she grabbed Kole's hand, this time taking him into the living room. In the far left hand corner of the room was a hidden hatch. Constance flung it open to reveal a wooden staircase that descended into a small, underground basement she mainly used for storage.

"Get in there," she directed Kole. Her son and Wolfy followed Constance's directions and entered the dark basement.

"Come on, Mommy," Kole said from somewhere in the underground room.

Constance hesitated. _The Daedra will rip the house apart until they find someone. _

"Mommy?" Kole repeated. A creaking sound started, alerting Constance that he was climbing back up the wooden stairs.

Just as his face emerged from the darkness, Constance decided what she would do, what she had to do. "Do not make a sound," she told him. "Do not come out unless I tell you. Once I shut the door, lock it from inside. Do not open it for any reason unless I tell you. Okay?"

Kole looked confused. "When are you coming back?"

She couldn't look at him as she said, "as soon as I can. Promise me that you'll stay here."

"But—"

"_Promise!_"

"I'll stay here, I promise," Kole replied.

Constance lowered the hidden door, pausing only just before she couldn't see Kole anymore to say, "I love you." She closed the door completely, waiting to hear the click of the lock before she pushed a dresser over the hatch to make it less noticeable.

From the kitchen she heard the door being forced open. She silently prayed to the Nine Divines before she stood up and quietly moved towards the Daedra.

Two scamps currently occupied the kitchen. One was sitting on the table, tearing apart the letter she had written for Baurus. The second was hanging from the small chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Neither of them had noticed Constance enter the room.

She crept up on the scamp sitting on the table. Just as she raised her sword, it sniffed the air and turned around. It screeched a warning to its fellow Daedra as she sliced through the small demon.

A sharp pain erupted in her shoulder, likely the claws of the other scamp. Constance spun around and swiped at the hanging creature. She clipped its arm, causing it to fall out of the air and onto the ground.

Constance tried to stomp on the scamp but it narrowly dodged her leather boot. It slashed at her again but only managed to rip the hem of her dress. She feigned the sword to the left, tricking the scamp to move right. Quickly she swept the sword around, cutting off the demon's head in the process.

There was a growl behind her. Suddenly Constance remembered more than scamps had chased her and Kole back into the house. She instinctively ducked, spotting a black sword pierce the air where her head had been.

She leaped back, knocking both herself and the humanoid Daedra to the ground. Constance jumped onto the monster's chest and thrust the blade into its neck, watching it bleed and struggle to cut her with its clawed fingers.

A lightning bolt struck the middle of Constance's chest. She fell onto her back, dropping her sword in the process.

The other humanoid Daedra appeared above her with a sadistic smirk on its face. "Where is the smaller one?" it asked in a distorted voice, as if it were speaking from underwater.

Constance was stunned by both the electricity that had shot through her body and the Daedra talking, but she managed to spit out, "I sent him into the woods. I was a distraction so he could get away."

_Take the bait. Please... take the bait. _

"I will find it," the Daedra taunted.

_Thank the gods. _Right before the Daedra's sword pierced into her heart, she begged the Divines to protect her son until Baurus could arrive.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: And so Kole's origin finally begins to unfold. For anyone who does not know who Kole is, then you should know this is a prequel to my other story, "The Nerevarine's Return." You can read this without needing to ever read the other without getting confused, but I'd prefer if you read both.**

**I plan to alternate between my two stories for when a new chapter will be posted, so updates to each one will take about two weeks, give or take how fast I am at writing the newest chapter for each.**

**Thanks to harmoniedusoir for being my beta-reader for both of my stories. Leave your review below. Or don't, if you don't want to. But seriously, do it.**


	2. Chapter 2: Bruma

**CHAPTER TWO: BRUMA**

**Baurus**

The two Blades rode into Bruma on horseback at sundown. The most noticeable of them was Mikhail Iron-Heart, the Hero of Kvatch. He was a large, imposing figure, even for a Nord. His light blond hair was short, cut in the fashion of an Imperial soldier, but his beard was so unruly and long it nearly hid his entire neck. His skin was pale, almost matching the snow that covered every square foot of the northern Cyrodiilic city, which made his almond eyes seem darker.

Baurus, in his own opinion, had a much less threatening appearance. He had a light build, which made him look more like a scout than a front-line warrior. His light brown skin—which was also the color of his eyes—made him stand out in the snow almost as much as Mikhail's ebony armor.

Both men were exhausted, and not just because of the journey from the Imperial City to Bruma. Baurus had helped Mikhail break the code of the Mythic Dawn Commentaries, then later to infiltrate the cult itself to stop the men who had killed the Emperor and opened the Oblivion Gates.

Unfortunately they had been too late. The leader of the Daeda worshipers, Mankar Camoran, had escaped to a plane of Oblivion with the Amulet of Kings, the only means of lighting the Dragonfires and sealing the bond between Oblivion and Tamriel.

Baurus had thought all hope had been lost to save Cyrodiil, but obviously Mikhail hadn't seen it the same way. After Mankar had disappeared, the two of them had been ordered to sacrifice an Argonian in order to become a part of the Mythic Dawn.

Mikhail, who was a proficient warrior when using a greatsword, had wielded the dagger that was to be used for the sacrifice like a weapon of mass destruction, managing to kill anyone who came at the Blades while protecting the Argonian all the while.

After killing the Doorkeeper, who had taken their equipment and replaced it with the crimson robes of the Mythic Dawn, Baurus was able to help carve their way out of the Dagon Shrine.

Only later, after the Argonian that revealed his name to be Jubilee thanked them for saving his life, did Mikhail reveal that he had stolen the Mysterium Xarxes—the written word of Mehrunes Dagon—from the Shrine. Both men knew that it was their only chance of finding Camoran, and thus the Amulet of Kings.

"Where's the closest inn?" Mikhail asked in his thick Nordic accent.

"Just down the road a ways," Baurus answered. "Never been to Bruma before?"

Mikhail shook his head. "I've been here twice. The first time was a few months ago, when I crossed the Skyrim-Cyrodiil border. I had decided to come here, since it was the first settlement I came across."

Baurus had wondered about Mikhail's past. He was obviously a good man, considering he had braved the Oblivion Gate in Kvatch alone then rescued Martin Septim while clearing out the remaining Daedra in the sacked city, but that didn't change the fact that the two of them met when the Nord was in a jail cell. "And the second?"

"Couple weeks ago, when Martin, Jauffre, and I came through here after the attack on Weynon Prior," Mikhail said. "We had to get some supplies before traveling the rest of the way to you-know-where."

The horses halted in front of _Olav's Tap and Tack_. "This is the place we will be staying?" he asked as the two of them dismounted their horses.

"It's not much, but it's much cheaper than Bruma's other inns," Baurus told him as they tied the horse's reigns to a post. "Plus there's a Blade in here that might have some information for us."

They entered the bustling inn, which was much warmer than the cold north of Cyrodiil. The tavern was crowded, but it didn't take long for Baurus to find Olaf sitting at a table all by himself, drinking from a large bottle of mead. The ginger Nord didn't attract much attention, which was exactly what he was trained to do.

Baurus walked over to the table and took a seat in front of Olaf. Mikhail sat next to the Redguard as Olaf said, "been a while."

"Yeah," Baurus replied. "I've spent a lot of—"

"Be right back." Olaf pulled himself onto his feet and stumbled towards one of several doors, likely one of which would lead to his room.

"He seems really good at pretending to be a local drunk," Mikhail said.

Baurus chuckled. "Olaf's likely not pretending. He's a great informant—when he's sober—but a lousy fighter, so he's been posted here for several years."

Mikhail's brow rose. "A lousy fighter, you say? Well then he must be pretending. Ain't a single Nord out there who isn't worth having on your side in a fight."

A clatter of loud noise echoed throughout the inn. Baurus and Mikhail turned around to see that Olaf had fallen over, taking down a waitress that had been handling a large tray of food with him. In his left hand he still held the bottle of mead that had been there before, but in the other were several envelopes.

"I suppose there are exceptions," Mikhail muttered under his breath.

Olaf stood up, brushed himself off, and came back to the table. The waitress gave him an evil eye the entire time as she picked up the pieces of broken glass. "These are for you," Olaf said, handing the envelopes to Baurus.

"You couldn't have helped that woman up?" Baurus asked as he sorted through the messages, all of which were labeled with his name. "Or apologized at the very least?"

"She's fine," Olaf assured him. "A strong, independent woman needs to learn how to pick herself up when she falls—without the help of a man."

Mikhail snorted. "Even when it was the man that knocked her down?"

The two Nords went back-and-forth, half-joking and half-arguing with each other while Baurus opened up the first envelope. The first word that caught his eye was _Constance_, then the next one was _Kole_. Baurus felt horrible, having completely forgotten to set aside time on the trip back to Cloud Ruler Temple to see his family.

After skimming through the letter, Baurus interrupted the arguing Nords. "I'm going to head home tomorrow when we leave for you-know-where."

Mikhail turned to Baurus and asked, "care to tell me why?"

Baurus waved the paper in his hand. "It's been two months since I last saw my wife and child. My duty dictates that I should go straight to Martin's side, but—"

"Family comes first," Mikhail finished. "I understand. Should you want a friend to come with you, I'm there."

"Thanks, but that won't be necessary." The Redguard stood up. "Let me go get us some rooms."

"Don't forget some drinks while you're at it," Mikhail called out as Baurus walked towards the bar.

He only made it a few feet before the front door blew open and an elderly Imperial stormed in. It took a few seconds for him to recognize the man as Gergus Sialloni, a hermit that lived ten minutes from his and Constance's home. He looked exhausted, as if he had ran the entire distance to Bruma.

Gergus collapsed into one of the stools resting along the bar, ordering a large glass of mead before slumping his head down into his arms.

"I wonder what that guy's problem is," Mikhail commented from the table.

Baurus wasn't sure, but he suspected something was wrong. Gergus was the least sociable person he'd ever met, and knew that the hermit would only come to Bruma if he had no choice in the matter. "Mr. Sialloni?" he asked hesitantly, half expecting the old man to drop dead from exhaustion.

To his surprise, Gergus looked up immediately. His eyes trained on Baurus, as if trying to recall who he was. "You... your that man who lives down the road from me, aren't you?"

Baurus opened his mouth to answer but the hermit didn't pause long before continuing. "Yes, yes you are him. I remember when you helped me rebuild my roof last year. Barbas, right?"

"My name is Baurus," the Redguard said, annoyed by the implications of the wrong name.

Gergus nodded, as if approving the answer. "I suppose you must have reported it to the guards already. Saves me from having to do so."

"Reported what?"

"One of the horses outside must be yours," Gergus added, completely ignoring Baurus's question. "That'd explain how you got here before me. Unless you noticed it a lot soon than I did. By my guess it was there for several hours before—"

"What are you talking about?" Baurus interrupted him.

Gergus stared at him in silence for a few seconds, as if he was trying to register the Blade's words. "I'm talking about the Oblivion Gate," he finally said.

A cold chill ran down Baurus's spine. "What Oblivion Gate?"

The words seemed to spill out of Gergus's mouth at the same rate as a glacier moved. "The one that's sitting in front of your house as we speak."

Within seconds Baurus was outside, untying the reins from the post as quickly as he could. A moment later Mikhail appeared next to his own horse. "Where are you going?" he asked. "What's happening?"

"Oblivion Gate. In front of my house. My family's in trouble," Baurus explained without taking his focus off of his horse.

Mikhail immediately began copying Baurus—hastily releasing his horse from the post as well. "I'm coming with you."

Baurus didn't have time to speak. He climbed up onto his horse's saddle, waiting only the briefest of seconds for Mikhail to do the same before racing towards the city gates.

_Please be fine. Please be fine. _

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: A short chapter this time. I originally thought it would be longer, ending with the two of them arriving at the house and Oblivion Gate, but I decided that a Mikhail chapter detailing Oblivion would be nice so I ended up cutting this chapter in half.**

**Thanks to harmoniedusoir for beta-ing so well. And thank you, dearest reader, for (hopefully) reviewing.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Deadlands

**CHAPTER THREE: THE DEADLANDS**

**Mikhail**

After two hours of riding, the sky began to shift from black to orange—confirming the presence of an Oblivion Gate. Mikhail swore under his breath, worried about Baurus's wife and child. The Redguard hadn't spoken since the two of them left the inn in Bruma, possibly having forgotten that his Nordic companion had followed him.

Ten more minutes of riding passed before the first Dremora were spotted. The small group of six growled in a combination of their Daedric language and the Imperial tongue as they charged at the two warriors, armed with swords and magic.

Mikhail quickly put on his ebony helmet before sliding off his horse to take on the Dremora on foot. Baurus elected to remain on his horse, though had Mikhail not been there, the Nord thought, he likely would have continued towards his house.

Mikhail swung his greatsword in an arc, cutting down two of the combatants. Baurus kicked one into the snow as he passed by, allowing Mikhail to crush its head with his heel.

The remaining Dremora retreated a ways before launching a magical assault. Mikhail had anticipated this so he dropped his greatsword and threw up a ward. He pushed through their attacks, pausing only to pick up a longsword from one of the fallen Daedra.

He shoved the blade through the armor of the Dremora closest to him. Its magic faltered, allowing Mikhail to finish it off without much difficulty.

Baurus rode past again, plowing over the last two Dremora. Mikhail ran swiftly to the fallen demons, slicing off their heads before they could react.

"Good teamwork," Mikhail said. He turned around to see Baurus, but the Blade was already gone, heading down the road towards his home. Mikhail wouldn't have even seen him had the orange sky not brightened up the surroundings more than the normal night sky would.

Mikhail picked up his greatsword as he ran towards his horse. He pushed his horse to gallop faster but he still couldn't catch up to Baurus.

That was until the Oblivion Gate was actually in sight. Mikhail shivered, though not from the cold. Despite having closed six of the gates in the past few months, each one was still frightening to look at. The only thing worse that the gate was the world it led to.

Baurus stared at a large crowd of assorted Daedra that had gathered in front of the Oblivion Gate with a frozen expression on his face. Mikhail didn't dare count how many there were, but instinct told him there were way too many for the two of them to take on alone.

"Gods..." Mikhail whispered when he finally noticed what the group of Daedra had circled around.

A small, wooden house. It looked abandoned, though Mikhail couldn't decide if that was a good or bad sign.

Baurus unsheathed his sword, his blank stare now one that was filled with a mixture of anger and fear. Mikhail couldn't believe that his friend planned to take on the horde.

_He'll need help. _Mikhail removed his greatsword from his back. "I'll take the left half, you take the right."

"No." Baurus was still looking at the horde as he spoke to Mikhail. "Close the Oblivion Gate. I'll take care of them."

"Are you mad? It'll be difficult enough with both of us fight together, but it'll be impossible to fight them all alone."

Baurus looked at Mikhail with so much pent-up anger that he appeared ready to spill the blood of anyone who dared to defy him. "The fight will not end as long as more Daedra can come through. You're the Oblivion Walker—you deal with it."

He faced the horde and raced towards it without another word. Mikhail decided that Baurus was right, but he still didn't like how suicidal the plan sounded.

Mikhail climbed off his horse, tying it to a nearby tree to hopefully hide it from any stray Daedra. Then he sprinted towards the Oblivion Gate, all the while keeping an eye on Baurus in case the Redguard needed help.

A Dremora appeared at the base of the gate just as Mikhail reached it. A quick swipe of his ebony greatsword felled the demon before it ever saw him.

The Nord took one final look at the fight behind him, trying to decide if he should join in on the battle before he was beyond helping Baurus. But Baurus was fighting like a mad man on his horse, slashing his katana at anything that moved; dodging both blade and magic anytime it came near him.

"Good luck." Mikhail faced the Oblivion Gate and, after taking a deep breath, jumped in.

* * *

Instantly he was in the Deadlands. Mikhail had no idea how the gates truly worked—how they were able to transport him to another realm in the blink of an eye. He didn't spend much time pondering that question; now his only goal was the Sigil Stone, which was housed at the top of the Sigil Tower.

He moved slowly as to not exhaust himself. The Deadlands were the closest thing to a desert that Mikhail had ever been in, excluding the Daedra and the lakes of lava that surrounded him. Breathing was harder in the Deadlands due to how dry the air was. After only a couple of steps he was already sweating.

Mikhail looked into the sky, trying to see which of the two towers in front of him was the Sigil Keep by comparing their heights. The one directly in front of him stretched up the farthest, but it rested on an island surrounded by lava. Luckily, a bridge connect it to the smaller tower to his left.

A firebolt flew past his head. Three scamps were scrambling towards him, each with sadistic grins on their ugly faces. Mikhail chuckled. _They think they are truly a threat._

He stomped towards the small demons at a steady pace, easily dodging all of their fire spells. They were either confident that they would eventually hit him or were too dumb to realize that they were in danger since all three of them remained still.

Mikhail punted the first scamp he came up to into the lava. The other two watched their fellow burn, taking their attention off of Mikhail long enough for him to close in on both of them and slice them in half.

Looking down at the dead scamps caused Mikhail to remember his first time in Oblivion, having entered the gate in front of Kvatch in order to get to Martin Septim. How surprised both he and the Kvatch guardsmen had been when Mikhail reappeared half an hour later with the Sigil Stone—the magical device behind the Oblivion Gates remaining open—in one hand and the Dremora he had grabbed onto in a fight in the other.

He shook his head. _Now is not the time to be reminiscing. _The more time he spent in the Deadlands was more time that Baurus would be fighting the horde of Daedra alone.

Two flame atronachs guarded the first room of the smaller tower. He struck one of of them down stealthily before alerting the other. It hurled a fireball in his direction but only managed to singe the bottom of his cloak.

He hid behind a pillar as the flame atronach unleashed a cone of fire on his position. Mikhail sheathed his greatsword and replaced it with a steel dagger, enchanted with frost magic. He summoned a ward with his free hand and stepped out from behind his protection.

The flame atronach chucked another fireball but it burst harmlessly against the Nord's magical shield. He lunged and stabbed the Daedra before it could roll away from him. The atronach died instantly thanks to the enchantment on his dagger.

Mikhail switched back to his greatsword as he ascended the tower. He guessed there would be two more floors before he reached the bridge, then another floor after that before he would find himself in the Sigillum Sanguis—the room that holds the Sigil Stone.

The next room had a single Dremora. Mikhail snorted. _They aren't making this very difficult for me. _He deflected the Daedra's sword before running the demon through with his own.

Again he climbed up a flight of stairs, this time entering a room with four Dremora. _This makes more sense. _One charged at him immediately, but he side-stepped and tripped the Daedra, stabbing it in the back before it could get up.

Another Dremora came at him, this time with more caution than its dead comrade. The other two were using Destruction spells on Mikhail from the other side of the room.

Mikhail dodged a firebolt aimed at his chest, failing to notice the Dremora's sword aimed at his chest. Its blade found a chink in his armor and pierced his skin.

He staggered, surprised that the Daedric sword hadn't cut him in two. The last time he had been in the Deadlands he still had been equipped with steel armor. He had to replace it when a Daedric sword cut through his chestplate like butter.

The Dremora came at him fast, likely hoping to put him down for good in his current state. Mikhail raised his hand and fired a lightning bolt at it as it swung for his head.

The lightning bolt struck the Daedra's midriff. It dropped its sword and fell to one knee.

Mikhail stood up and cut off its head before it had a chance to recover. He then turned his attention to the two magic-using Dremora that were growling at him.

They unleashed a swarm of firebolts. Mikhail twisted and turned as he ran towards them, though a few of the spells managed to hit him and momentarily slow him down.

Just as one of the Dremora was about to cast another Destruction spell, Mikhail sliced off both of its hands. It shrieked and fell to the ground.

Mikhail switched his focus to the final Dremora, using the flat of his blade to knock it down next to its shrieking counterpart. In one swift strike he decapitated both Daedra at once.

Seeing that there were no more stairs, Mikhail slipped into a nearby hallway in hope of finding the doorway that would lead to the bridge he was looking for. A few scamps blocked his path, but they took off once Mikhail crushed one under his boot with little effort.

After a few minutes of traversing through one hallway after another, he eventually came across a doorway. He opened it and smiled. The bridge was fully intact. His second trip into the Deadlands had resulted in him having to cross a half-collapsed bridge that had nearly gave away thanks to him weighing it down.

At first glance, Mikhail had thought the room he entered after having crossed the bridge was empty. He walked only a few steps before a Spider Daedra dropped down in front of him. It summoned several Spiderlings to its side before spitting its acidic web at Mikhail.

He rolled, feeling the web fly over his head and hit the wall behind him. He glanced back and saw the wall had started to melt.

The Spiderlings advanced towards him, but Mikhail ignored them. They were much weaker than the Spider Daedra and would be readily replaced once they were killed. Instead he trained his eye on the Spider Daedra, who was crawling back up the wall in an attempt to escape._  
_

Mikhail flung his enchanted dagger at the creature. It impaled the wall, slicing through one of the spider's legs in the process. It fell off the wall and began squirming on the cold stone-like floor.

Mikhail strode towards the Spider Daedra, kicking aside any Spiderlings that stood in his path. He flipped his blade then shoved it through the center of the fidgeting creature. It stopped shaking after a few seconds—green blood spilling out of its gaping wound.

He turned to finish off the Spiderlings, but they had all vanished. _Cowards. _Mikhail tugged his dagger out of the wall and proceeded up a ramp on the far side of the room._  
_

The Sigillum Sanguis doors were already unlocked. This surprised Mikhail, as he had always needed to find the key that unlocked the doors on a Dremora in prior expeditions in the Deadlands. _Not that I'm complaining. _He guessed that, by that point, he had been in Oblivion for about twenty minutes or so.

"Stay alive a little longer, Baurus," Mikhail whispered to himself. "I'm almost done."

He pushed the doors open. The Sigillum Sanguis was, like always, the largest room located at the top of the tallest tower—having an upper and lower section all to itself. What was different about this Sigillum Sanguis was that there wasn't a single Daedra in sight. Normally this part of the tower had the most demons protecting it, since it was where the power source for the Oblivion Gate was held.

"So..." a deep, distorted voice that Mikhail suspected belonged to a Dremora. "The Gate Closer. You have a lot of nerve, for a mortal."

Mikhail scanned the room but was unable to find the speaker. "Show yourself!"

"You have been a pain in Lord Dagon's side." Loud thuds moved closer to the staircase that connected the lower and upper sections of the Sigillum Sanguis.

Despite his fear caused by encountering a Daedra who could speak the Imperial tongue fluently, Mikhail laughed. "You think I care about your lord?"

The Daedra laughed as well. "No. I understand, of course—nothing worse than a foreign invader that wants to destroy you and your home. That, however, hasn't stopped you from doing the very same."

"I am merely trying to protect the innocent lives that your lord threatens." Mikhail couldn't believe what was happening. He was arguing with a Daedra about the ethics of invading foreign soil. "I would not be here if Mehrunes Dagon didn't wish to take Tamriel for himself."

Finally the Daedra appeared at the top of the staircase. Mikhail recognized it from a book of Daedra as a Xivilai, the strongest among the humanoid Daedra races. It stood at around eight feet tall, dwarfing the seven-foot-tall Nordic warrior. It wore a suit of Daedric armor over its muscular frame. Horns grew out of its pale grey head. Its eyes were as white as snow.

"According to Lord Dagon, Tamriel _belongs _to him." The Xivilai descended down the staircase. In one hand it wielded a Daedric battleaxe and in the other was a warhammer. _Bastard's strong; it uses only one hand to carry a weapon that a normal man would need two for._ "Most of his followers—both the Daedra that serve him and the Mythic Dawn—believe his words to be true. I, however, know it is just an excuse to leave the Deadlands. Everything he destroys here doesn't stay that way for long. Your realm isn't nearly as resiliant."

"Why follow him if you can see past his lies?" Mikhail asked.

"What can I say? A loyal servant never questions his master." It strolled down the stairs with a spring in its step, as if thinking that it was superior to Mikhail in every possible way. "And perhaps killing you would earn me a spot as his second-in-command."

"I thought that was Mankar Camoran was—"

The Xivilai once again laughed. "That elf thinks himself as such, though he is important. If his cult hadn't assassinated your Emperor and the rest of his bloodline, none of this would have been possible."

Mikhail went quiet. _Do they not know about Martin? Was the gate in Kvatch a coincidence? _He shook his head, knowing that he was far beyond believing anything was a coincidence anymore. After all, having been arrested for a murder he did not commit then placed in the cell that housed Uriel Septim's escape route was, according to the Emperor, an act of fate.

The Xivilai finally made its way down to the lower section of the Sigillum Sanguis. It looked down at Mikhail from the base of the stairs with a smile on its face. "Camoran was going to be rewarded handsomely." Then, as if having read Mikhail's mind, it said, "that was, until, another Septim was found living in the Chapel of Akatosh. Now he'll be lucky to survive Lord Dagon's wrath, once he is finally able to leave this realm."

"How did Mehrunes learn of Martin?"

"The priest isn't all he appears to be. Once, years ago, he was a Daedra worshiper. Prince Sanguine, to be more specific," it added. "Dagon was bragging to Sanguine about being behind the plot that eliminated all of the Septims. Sanguine simply laughed and said, 'you missed one.' After some digging around and a few sacrifices here and there, Martin was found."

Mikhail didn't want to believe that what the Xivilai said about Martin was true. But it spoke with an easy confidence that one would use when revealing a horrible truth.

"Why tell me all this?" Mikhail asked curiously.

It shrugged. "I see no harm in telling this information to dead men." The Xivilai paused for a moment. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"Why?"

"When I present your head to Lord Dagon, I'd prefer to not refer to you as the Gate Closer," it explained. "Lord Dagon hates the fact that the gates can be closed, and it would not be wise to remind him."

He sighed. "They call me the Hero of Kvatch. What is it you are known as?"

"I am Throk. I have slain a thousand men and mer, and you, Hero of Kvatch, will be next."

Throk charged with an impossible speed for its size. Mikhail barely managed to roll away from the warhammer that had been aimed at his head. He got back up on his feet and swiped at the Daedra but missed by a large margin.

"Not much of a fighter, it seems," Throk said as he stalked towards Mikhail.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

Mikhail feigned left with his greatsword then swung it to the right, hoping to catch his large opponent by surprise.

Throk dropped his warhammer and grabbed Mikhail's blade in mid-air. With a powerful tug, he ripped it from the Nord's hands then threw it to the opposite side of the Sigillum Sanguis.

"When will I see something then?" Throk laughed.

Mikhail whipped out his steel dagger. He wasn't nearly as skilled with it as he was with a greatsword, but still had been able to escape the Dagon Shrine with Baurus and the Argonian using one.

Throk, still chuckling to himself, bent down to pick up his warhammer. Mikhail fired a lightning bolt at the Xivilai and hit him in his shoulder.

At first Mikhail thought that the spell had done a significant amount of damage since Throk was staring at the ground in silence. Then he began to laugh his sick, demented laugh as he looked up. "Not bad. Didn't know you wanted to fight dirty. I can do dirty."

A large fireball erupted from Throk's open palm. Mikhail had enough time to conjure a ward, but the amount of force behind the Destruction spell sent him flying across the room. He landed hard on the bottom of the lower section's staircase.

"Not bad yourself," Mikhail moaned as he pushed himself onto his feet. His helmet had come off during his time in the air, landing somewhere he hadn't seen.

Throk moved slowly towards his warhammer. Mikhail couldn't tell if it was because the Daedra was injured or if he was just showing off how little the Nord's magic had done to him.

Throk looked at Mikhail and grimaced. "Ugh. Why must all you mortals be so hideous?"

Mikhail started climbing up the stairs, taking a step back each time Throk moved closer. _If I can reach the Sigil Stone, I'll survive. _The Nord in Mikhail made him think that it would make him a coward to flee from the demon, but he didn't want to die knowing that he could have helped Baurus save his family.

_I have to distract Throk, else he'll kill me before I ever get to the stone. _"Me, hideous? Have you never seen yourself?"

Throk stopped. "What's wrong with the way I look?"

Mikhail continued ascending towards the Sigil Stone as he answered. "Well horns aren't exactly attractive. Not to us mortals, at least. Plus your skin color is so unnatural. You can have my helmet if you want. In fact, I insist."

"No thanks. I'll need it to cover your shocked expression when I present your head to Lord Dagon."

Mikhail was halfway up the staircase. "Why would I be shocked? You've made it awfully obvious that you're a combatant without equal."

Just as he had expected, Throk took the false compliment and thrived off of it. "I've fought in the name of Mehrunes Dagon for thousands of years. Not once have I let down the Prince of Destruction."

"Not even during the Battlespire invasion?" Mikhail asked.

"Lord Dagon used the Mazken for that failed attempt to seize Tamriel," Throk pointed out. "He had grown tired of the normal Dremora that serve him, so he convinced many of the Mazken to turn against their former master, Jaciel Morgen, and fight in his name."

"Why the Mazken?"

"Sheogorath uses them in the Shivering Isles, so my lord saw no reason he couldn't use them as well. Suffice to say, he slaughtered the remaining Mazken and returned to using the Dremora and Xivilai that inhabit the Deadlands."

_Just a few more steps. _"Why had he grown tired of your race? Are you not all you're cracked up to be?"

"Of course I am!" Throk snapped. "Lord Dagon doesn't always choose the most logical choice, which would be me. I hope that by presenting you to him, he will see that I and the other Daedra can have more uses than just mindless killing."

"You're going to kill me to prove that you can do more than just kill?"

Throk moved over a little bit so that Mikhail was still in his line of sight. _He must not be as wise as he thinks if he hasn't realized what I'm doing by now._ "I'm not much into bringing things back alive. Although, Lord Dagon would probably enjoy torturing you alive."

Just as Mikhail was completely on the upper section of the Sigillum Sanguis, an expression of realization appeared on Throk's face. The Xivilai smirked. "Oh... you sly, little man..."

Mikhail rushed towards the Sigil Stone—desperation pushing him to move faster than he ever had in his heavy set of ebony armor. Despite his speed, he could hear Throk stomping up the stairs at a quicker pace.

His hand grabbed the magical artifact and plucked it from the spot it was floating in. The ground began to shake, and somewhere not to far away Mikhail heard Throk shout in his Daedric language.

Mikhail, while trying to remain on his feet, turned around to see Throk was foaming at the mouth. "You disgusting worm! You dare defy me!?"

"Tell Mehrunes that I'll be coming for him," Mikhail taunted.

Throk roared. He hurled his battleaxe with pin-point accuracy right at Mikhail.

Mikhail tried to duck or move out of the way, but his feet wouldn't budge. All he could do was close his eyes, not wanting to watch himself die.

Then the world went black.

* * *

Once his senses returned to him, Mikhail felt cold. He opened his eyes and saw that he was lying on the snow covered ground of northern Cyrodiil. "That was close," he mumbled to himself.

He got up to his feet slowly, still in shock that he had almost lost in battle to a single Daedra. Mikhail tried to reassure himself that Throk had much more fighting experience than him, but it didn't help much.

Mikhail went to brush snow off his face when he remembered that he had been holding his steel dagger. Next he remembered that he had left his ebony greatsword and helmet behind in the Deadlands. _I can always replace them later. _

"Baurus?" Mikhail called out. No response. There wasn't a single sound, and now that the Oblivion Gate was closed he couldn't see very far.

A small fire appeared in Mikhail's hand, just enough for him to see a few feet in front of him. "Baurus?" he repeated as he got closer to the Redguard's home.

It wasn't long before he came across the dead bodies. As far as he could tell, the entire horde had either been killed or fled. "And I couldn't even take on one Daedra."

One of the bodies was exceptionally large. Upon further examination, Mikhail discovered it was Baurus's horse. Up until then he had thought that there was a slim chance that Baurus had survived the onslaught, but his hopes were dashed when he saw the butchered animal.

Then a nearly inaudible sound reached Mikhail's ears. _It came from the house. _

Mikhail moved quietly, half expecting that it was a stray Daedra that had made the noise. But as he got closer, the sound began more defined and he recognized it as crying.

The door creaked loudly as he opened it, but the crying didn't stop. In fact, it sounded as if it was coming from inside the room. Mikhail willed the fire in his hand to grow bigger. He gasped when he saw who was crying.

It was Baurus. The Blade was weeping heavily over a dead female Redguard that couldn't be anyone other than his wife. She had died with a faint smile on her face, as if in her last moments she was at peace.

Mikhail didn't know what to do. If Baurus had noticed him enter the house he didn't show it. After a minute of watching in silence, Mikhail softly said, "I'm so sorry."

"I... I failed her... just like I failed... the Emperor," Baurus whispered in between sobs.

"You couldn't—"

"Kole is missing. He's probably dead too. Because of me."

"You don't know that. He might be hiding in the woods, or maybe he ran to Bruma."

Baurus looked up. Mikhail had never seen such a painful expression in his life—the expression of a man who lost his son and wife. "He's five-years-old. Do you really think he could have survived in the woods or escaped to Bruma? _Alone?_"

"Maybe—"

"Leave me alone," Baurus ordered. He placed his head back on his wife's shoulder and went back to crying.

Respecting the widower's wishes, Mikhail crept past him to explore the rest of the house. _Maybe there's a clue to where Kole is. If he's still alive. _

He entered what he assumed to be the living room. He took a few steps forward then tripped over a table, falling and crashing onto the floor loudly. Mikhail cursed under his breath for causing such a racket.

Just as he was about to push himself up, he heard what he thought was a bark. Following that was a young voice shushing something to be quiet.

Mikhail suddenly remembered Baurus mentioning that the last time he had visited his family that he had brought with him a puppy for Kole.

Hoping that his hunch was correct, Mikhail raised his illuminated hand up to examine the room. In the far corner was a dresser, and under it was what looked like a false floor.

He crawled over to it and found that he was right. The false floor was actually a hidden door that Mikhail guessed lead to an underground room or basement. He pressed his ear up against it and made out the sound of shallow breathing.

"Kole?"

Silence.

"Kole, are you in there?"

Silence.

Mikhail tried to open the hatch but it wouldn't budge. _It must be locked from the inside. _"Kole, if you're in there, unlock the door."

He expected no response, but to his surprise a muffled voice answered back to him. "Who are you? Where's my mommy?"

Relief flooded over Mikhail. He couldn't bring himself to tell Kole what happened, but he did say, "my name is Mikhail. I'm a friend of your father."

"Daddy? He's here?"

"Yes, your daddy is here."

"Prove it."

Mikhail was surprised how smart Kole was. _He is Baurus's son, after all. _"Stay in there. I'll be right back."

Not waiting for Kole to respond, Mikhail raced back to the kitchen. Baurus seemingly hadn't heard the conversation as he was still lying over his wife's body. "Baurus, Kole's alive. He's here, in the house."

"Don't lie to me," Baurus warned.

"He's in the basement."

Baurus looked over his shoulder. Mikhail could see the smallest amount of hope in the man's eyes. "I swear, if you are lying—"

"I'm not," Mikhail promised.

Baurus slowly moved past Mikhail and into the living room. He slumped to his knees in front of the dresser and in a low tone mumbled, "Kole?"

"Daddy?"

"_Kole!_" Baurus jumped to his feet and shoved the dresser over. "Open the hatch!"

A click later the hatch was open. Inside was a small Baurus with a bloody bandage covering part of his face. Next to him was a small grey hound. "Daddy!"

Baurus scooped Kole up into his arms and cradled him. Mikhail saw tears of joy and relief fall from his eyes like rain from a storm. "I thought I lost you!"

"The monsters attacked me and Mommy," Kole said as he wrapped his small arms around his father. "She told me and Wolfy to go in there and wait for her. We were down there forever."

Mikhail was sure how Baurus was feeling at the moment. On one hand, he had just lost his wife. On the other hand, he just recovered the son he thought was lost or dead. Mikhail felt both happy and sad for his friend at the same time.

Minutes passed as father and son hugged each other so tightly that Mikhail wasn't sure that they would ever be able to let go of each other. Then Kole asked, "where's Mommy?"

Baurus looked at Mikhail. His stare seemed to be asking what he should do. Mikhail shook his head, suggesting that at the time being they just avoid the topic.

Baurus nodded. "She's... not here. She wants us to go to a safe place, one where the monsters will never get you. It's called Cloud Ruler Temple."

"When will she get there?"

"Soon, Kole," Baurus choked out. "Soon."

Baurus headed towards the kitchen, still carrying Kole in his arms. The puppy that had been in the basement tagged along next to both of them. Mikhail followed close behind, extinguishing his flame before anyone was in the kitchen in order to hide the body in there with darkness. Mikhail directed them towards where he had placed his horse, hoping that it was still alive.

Luckily it was. Baurus placed Kole on the horse. "Stay here son," he said as he picked up the puppy and put it into the child's arms. "Mikhail, take him to the temple. I'll catch up later, after I've... taken care of business.

"As you say."

"Will you and Mommy be at the good place soon?" Kole asked.

"Yes, son. Mikhail will take care of you until then."

Mikhail grabbed the reins and started to lead the horse and child down the dark road.

"Mikhail."

The Nord glanced over his shoulder at Baurus. "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"There is no need to thank me," Mikhail said. "Family comes first." He summoned another fire in his hands and began following the road back to Bruma, swearing to himself and the gods that no harm would come to pass on Kole as long as he continued to breath.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So hopefully this longer chapter makes up for Chapter Two being so short. If not, then you are a hard person to please.**

**Thanks to harmoniedusoir for being my beta-reader. She said that the fight scenes were good, which is a great thing to hear since I think that I am awful with writing combat in a story. Perhaps months of writing "The Nerevarine's Return" and her advice are helping me get better at it.**

**In fact, thanks to harmoniedusoir again for making me a better writer.**

**Make sure you review so I won't have to ask you again next chapter. SPOILER ALERT!: I am going to ask you to do it again next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4: Cloud Ruler Temple

**CHAPTER FOUR: CLOUD RULER TEMPLE**

**Martin**

Martin was up before the sun that morning. Like most mornings, he went straight from his personal room in the West Wing of Cloud Ruler Temple to the Great Hall. Two Blades—Achilles and Roliand—followed closely behind him, having been posted outside his room during the night.

_I wonder if I'll ever go anywhere alone again, once I actually become Emperor. _It wasn't that Martin didn't appreciate their devotion to protecting him; he was just still not used to being followed everywhere he went.

The Great Hall was, well, great. _It must have got its name for some reason, after all._ Tables ran parallel to large, intricate archways that held up the ceiling. Akaviri Katanas having previously belonged to fallen Blades hung from these archways and on the walls. Suspended flames came down from both the ceiling and from wooden carvings of dragons attached to the archways, though Martin wasn't sure how the fires remained lit seemingly without any aid. A blazing fireplace opposite of the entrance to the Grand Hall warmed up the entire room.

To his surprise, since most of the Blades ate their meals in the East Wing's dining room, Jauffre was sitting at one of the tables closest to the fireplace eating a small breakfast. Martin guessed that the man was in his early seventies, judging by the wrinkles and gray hair. He remembered being stunned at how impressive Jauffre had been at Weynon Prior during the battle with the Mythic Dawn, despite his age.

"Good morning," Martin said to the Grandmaster of the Blades as he took a seat across from him. He placed three books he had brought from his room on the table, all of which were about the same topic: the Septim Dynasty.

Jauffre looked up, a tired smile forming on his face. "Up rather early today, aren't we?" His eyes shot to the books, their titles having been facing him. "I see you've taken an interest in your family history."

Martin nodded. "I've never known much about the Sept—my family," he corrected. "The subject had never been of much interest to me before... all of this."

"Should you ever have questions about your father, I'd be willing to answer them," Jauffre offered.

Martin still had a hard time believing that Uriel Septim VII was his father. Forty-five years of believing that he was the son of a farmer was hard to erase so quickly.

Thinking of his past before the Oblivion Crisis helped Martin come up with a question. "Aebond Amatius, the farmer that raised me as his son, did he know that I was the Emperor's son?"

Jauffre shook his head. "Uriel had entrusted me with finding you a good family, one that wouldn't connect you to him."

Martin frowned. _He obviously cared a lot for me. _

"So I went searching," he continued. "I heard word that Aebond had lost his wife and unborn child from a failed childbirth. Many people in Kvatch had felt bad for him, since they all considered him a good, honest man. As such, I saw him as the best man to raise you, and the best place to hide you. So I left you in front of his home, with a note asking for him to raise you as his own."

It was true. Aebond never treated Martin in a way that would suggest they weren't anything other than father and son. _Until he was murdered, that is.  
_

The dark memory didn't stop Martin from chuckling lightly at Jauffre's words. "You chose a short Imperial with bright red hair to be my cover. Were people to assume that I took after my mother?"

Jauffre laughed too. "I suppose so."

Saying the word 'mother' caused Martin to ask his next question. "Do you know who my birth mother was?"

To Martin's disappointment, Jauffre shook his head again. "I never met her, nor was I ever told who she was. Your father didn't give me that information, though whether it was to protect her, himself, or you, I can't say."

The doors behind him flew open. Martin turned to see Cyrus—a Blade—had barged in. Seeing the bow in his hand, Martin guessed he had come from a watch position at the gates to Cloud Ruler Temple.

"What is it?" Jauffre asked, concern in his voice.

"Iron-Heart's back; he's coming up the road right now," Cyrus answered.

Mikhail had been ordered by Jauffre to go to the Imperial City where another Blade was working undercover. The two of them were supposed to retrieve the Amulet of Kings, which had been stolen from Weynon Prior, from the Mythic Dawn.

"Does he have the amulet?" Jauffre asked. "And is Baurus with him?"

Baurus. _That's the undercover Blade. _According to some of the other Blades, Baurus was the one of two survivors of the successful assassination attempt on Uriel Septim, the other being Mikhail. He had supposedly volunteered to go after the Mythic Dawn, feeling responsible for the Emperor's death.

Cyrus shrugged. "Mikhail didn't say anything other than the password, so I'm not sure about the Amulet of Kings. There was someone on the horse he walked with, but I don't think it was Baurus."

"Well," Jauffre began as he stood up, "let's go find out. You're welcome to come, Martin."

"And so I shall." He followed both men outside, where the sky was just staring to get brighter. Martin cursed under his breath, wishing he had put on heavier clothing than his old priest robes. The cold, northern Cyrodiil air immediately sent a chill down his spine; ankle-deep snow froze his feet.

A short distance away, a floating ball of fire appeared. Martin had to look closer to see that his young Nordic friend and savior Mikhail Iron-Heart was the source of the light. His ebony armor would have rendered him completely invisible, had it not been for the fire he carried. Just as Cyrus had informed them, Mikhail was leading his horse by its reigns. Martin didn't know why at first, but as the man and horse got closer, a third, smaller figure could be made out on the horse's saddle.

"You've returned," Jauffre said with a hint of shock in his voice.

When Mikhail didn't answer, Martin added, "I told Jauffre not to worry. What could you face with difficulty these days, after taking on as many Daedra as you have?"

"It was no walk in the park," Mikhail grunted. He stopped a few paces away from Martin, his face now clear enough to tell something was troubling him.

"I see you have bad news," Martin commented. "You didn't recover the amulet, did you?"

Mikhail nodded. "That, and more."

"What has happened to Baurus?" Jauffre asked.

"He's... alive." Mikhail had taken a while to finish his statement, as if he had been having trouble finding the right words. "We ran into some trouble last night, and he remained behind to take care of things. He'll be here soon enough."

Martin turned his attention to the person on Mikhail's horse. "Then who is that?"

Mikhail's fire grew larger, allowing its light to illuminate more of his surroundings, including the horse and its rider. A young Redguard child, with a bandaged cheek and sleepy eyes, became visible. In his hands was a small pup that looked equally worn out.

"A child?"

"This is Kole—Baurus's son," Mikhail explained.

Jauffre sighed, as if the child had become a new addition to his long list of problems. "Why have you brought him here? Only Blades and those of the Septim bloodline are allowed here, under normal circumstances."

Martin hadn't know that that was a rule. Though now that it was out in the open, he realized that it must have been a strict rule, considering that there were only the Blades and himself prior to Mikhail's return. _What is the reasoning behind this rule? _

"These _aren't _normal circumstances," Mikhail assured him.

"Mikhail," Kole whimpered, "can we go inside? I'm tired."

"Of course." Extinguishing his flame, Mikhail picked up Kole and carried him towards the open doors of Cloud Ruler Temple. Martin thought it was an odd sight: a large Nord, carrying a small Redguard child, carrying a pup.

Jauffre placed his hand on Mikhail's shoulder as he passed by. "You better have good reasoning to violate our rules this early into your time as a Blade."

Mikhail shook the hand off his shoulder. "I will explain myself once I've put Kole to bed," he muttered before proceeding into the Great Hall then to the entrance of the West Wing.

Cyrus cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose I should put his horse away before he goes to bite my head off next." He grabbed the horse's reigns and started for the stables.

Jauffre groaned heavily. He went to enter Cloud Ruler Temple just as Martin asked, "why?"

He turned around, a confused expression on his face. "What?"

"Why is that a rule?" Martin clarified for him. "Why can't there be anyone other than Blades and my family?"

"Because the Blades have a sworn duty to put the Emperor before all else," Jauffre explained. "Blades are permitted to have families, but not to have them here." Possibly sensing that Martin was about to ask why, he continued. "What would you do in this scenario? Someone in your family is in trouble—it could be your son, or maybe your wife—and you are able to save them. However, at the same time, the Emperor is also in trouble, and he too can be saved. Who would you save, had you only enough time to save one?"

"I would try to save both," Martin said, "no matter the cost."

"No matter the cost?" Jauffre repeated. He shook his head in disappointment. "If you save the Emperor, your family member dies, and you are forever ridden with guilt. If you save your family member, the Emperor dies, and you are branded a traitor and will forever be known as one. If, as you would do, you try to save both and fail, then you are broken—forever."

"Or, I could _successfully _save them both," Martin suggested. "Then nothing bad would happen, and everyone would be happy."

Jauffre frowned. "You're blinded by your optimism. I suppose it is a good trait for an Emperor to have, should you learn to keep it in check." He scratched what little amount of hair he had. "Look, I just want what is best for the Empire. Following these ancient rules has done us well, and at a time like this we need to stick together."

"I suppose you're right about working together, but still..."—_I can't believe I am doing this_—"...as the heir to the Septim throne, I say that Kole is allowed to stay here until a time that his father sees fit to remove him. And that goes for the rest of the Blades and their families."

Jauffre didn't look very surprised, but he did express disapproval. Regardless, he bowed to Martin. "Very well. I suppose we should go inside, find out what happened from Mikhail."

Martin followed him into the Great Hall. Just as they were about to enter the West Wing, Mikhail passed through the doorway, no longer holding Kole. Martin noticed that his helmet was nowhere in sight, and neither was his greatsword.

"So is this when I get yelled at?" Mikhail asked Jauffre. "For not abandoning the child of my friend?"

Jauffre cleared his throat. "It was, until Martin decided that the rule was too strict and got rid of it."

"Really?" Mikhail grinned at Martin. "I thank you, and so would Baurus if he were here."

"There's no need to thank me."

Jauffre waved his arm towards the table that he and Martin had been sitting at before. "Let's discuss what has happened, and what our next move will be."

The three of them moved quickly to the table. Martin and Jauffre took their original spots while Mikhail found a seat next to Martin. He glanced at the books that were in front of him. "_Brief History of the Empire, Biography of the Wolf Queen, The Madness of Pelagius_? Not the kind of light reading I'm interested in."

"I wanted to learn more about my family," Martin told him.

Mikhail smirked. "Your family does have quite an extensive history. Complex, insane, and sometimes downright impossible, but extensive."

"That's no understatement," Martin said with a small smile. "So what resulted in Kole being here, anyway?"

Mikhail spoke fast—hitting all the main points as quickly as he could. He and Baurus had discovered that an Oblivion Gate had opened in front of Baurus's family home. Mikhail, after closing the gate, had found Baurus weeping over the body of his wife Constance. Luckily they had found Kole mostly unharmed in the basement. Mikhail and Kole began the journey to Cloud Ruler Temple while Baurus took care of his wife's corpse.

"...decided to leave Kole in the dark about the whole thing," Mikhail finished. "Neither of us could find it in our hearts to tell him his mother had died."

All of them were quiet for a while. Martin felt horrible for Kole. He had lost his father at seventeen-years-old; a clan of bandits had fatally wounded him in a robbery attempt. Aebond had died in Martin's hands—his last words a prayer that the gods take care of Martin.

The trauma, the pain, the turmoil of losing his father had nearly driven Martin insane. It was watching his father die that drove him into Daedra worship in hope that their carefree and happy lifestyle would help him move on.

_But I was already a man when I lost my father. Kole is just a boy... _

Jauffre was the first to speak. "I only ever met Constance once. It was when she was still pregnant with Kole. Never had I seen a love as strong as that which she shared with Baurus."

"Had Kole not survived, I'm not sure that Baurus would be able to go on," Mikhail said.

Martin, not knowing Baurus as well as the other two did, decided that they needed to move onto more pressing matters. "So what happened before that, with the Mythic Dawn and the Amulet of Kings?"

"Baurus and I succeeded in infiltrating the Mythic Dawn," Mikhail began, looking at Martin with an expression of gratefulness for changing the subject. "But Camoran escaped with the amulet before we could snatch it back. He left to a realm he called Paradise, claiming to return with Mehrunes Dagon."

"Where is this 'Paradise'?" Martin asked.

Mikhail shrugged. "I'm guessing it is a part of the Deadlands, or perhaps another part of Oblivion that Mehrunes controls. Either way, he's beyond our reach now."

"Dammit," Jauffre cursed under his breath. "We have to get the Amulet of Kings back."

"Way ahead of you." Mikhail started to dig around in his pack, eventually pulling out a rectangular object wrapped up in a thin cloth. He placed it on the table. "This is how we'll get the amulet back," he said as he removed the cloth.

Martin gasped. Somehow, even though he had never seen the book, he recognized it right away. Jauffre somehow knew as well, a fact he made known when he cried out, "the Mysterium Xarxes!"

"By the Nine!" Martin shouted. "Such a thing is dangerous even to handle!"

"That's why I covered it up," Mikhail said.

Jauffre mumbled something under his breath. "Do you really think that the powers hidden inside this damned book can really be contained with a handkerchief?"

Martin recalled a spell he had learned during his time as a worshiper of Sanguine, one that suppressed the effects of magical items with quite a degree of success. "You were right to bring it here. But I should be the one that reads it; I know some ways to protect myself from its evil powers."

"Are you sure?" Jauffre asked. "What if Mehrunes tries to control you through the book? Or, more likely, he kills you with it?"

"Trust me, the spell I know is exceptionally strong. It will work—it has to," Martin said.

"So will you be able to do it? Find Camoran?" Mikhail asked.

Martin scanned the cover of the Mysterium Xarxes, grimacing at the ideas that ran through his head of what ancient, evil messages and words were written inside the book. He managed to decipher the Daedric language without much difficulty, which both stunned and scared him. _Some things are never forgotten, I suppose. _

Still, he didn't want to get either man's hopes up if he couldn't read the rest of the book. "I don't know," Martin admitted. "Maybe. I suspect that the secret of how to open a portal to Camoran's Paradise lies within these pages. But I will need time; tampering with dark secrets, even just reading them, can be very dangerous. I'll have to proceed carefully."

"How much time?" Mikhail asked.

"I couldn't tell you. A few days, maybe a week. I will get started as soon as possible."

Mikhail yawned, rubbing his eyes much like Kole had been when the Nord was carrying him. "I'm gonna go hit the hay. Felt like I haven't slept in months."

"When you awake, go find Steffan," Jauffre told him. "There've been reports of strangers around the perimeter of Cloud Ruler Temple. The last sighting was by Steffan, who thinks that they could be members of the Mythic Dawn. If that's the case, they'd likely be hiding out in Bruma."

"What will I need to do?" Mikhail asked.

"You and Steffan will search the area, looking for clues of Mythic Dawn activity," Jauffre informed him. "Then the two of you will head to Bruma—Baurus too, since he was raised in Bruma and has several contacts—and look there for anything."

"Actually, Baurus expressed the desire to become Martin's bodyguard," Mikhail said. "I think he feels that he needs to make up for..."

Martin waited for Mikhail to finish his sentence, but he never did. "Make up for what?"

Jauffre and Mikhail traded glances. A silent back-and-forth conversation passed between them, one that Martin had no idea was about. Finally, Jauffre said to him, "Baurus was a member of your father's personal guard. He was with Uriel the night he was assassinated, along with two other Blades that unfortunately didn't survive the night either."

"He blames himself for the Emperor's death," Mikhail added. He looked down at the table. "It's actually my fault."

"What do you mean," Martin asked, "that it was all your fault?"

Continuing to stare at the wooden table, Mikhail answered. "I too was with your father that night. Their escape route out of the Imperial City began in my prison cell."

"Why were you in prison?"

"I followed him and his Blade escorts," Mikhail continued, ignoring Martin's question. "We came across a dead end, and Mythic Dawn assassins started pouring in from left and right. Baurus told me to stay behind with the Emperor while he and the other Blade fought the cult. But then your father handed me the Amulet of Kings, told me that it was all up to me now, then was killed by a dagger of a man who had broken through a false wall."

Martin didn't see how it was anyone's fault. _Other than Mehrunes and Camoran._ "I'm sure you did your best. Obviously my father knew you would handle things, else he wouldn't have trusted you with the amulet."

Mikhail rubbed his brow. "That's just it—I _didn't _handle things. The Emperor died, the Amulet of Kings is gone, the Oblivion Gates are popping up all over the country. This end of times is all my fault."

"Don't beat yourself up about it."

Mikhail looked up. His face was cold with determination. "I won't. The Oblivion Crisis began by my inaction, and it will end as long as I continue to fight." Again he yawned. "But there is no more I can do at this point, other than sleep." He stood up and headed for the West Wing. "Night."

"So... what do you think?" Jauffre asked. "About having Baurus be your guard?"

Martin didn't know what he thought about it. But he knew he should agree to it. By having Baurus be assigned to Martin, who hadn't a reason to leave Cloud Ruler Temple, he would always be close to Kole. "I think that it is a good idea."

Something in Jauffre's eyes revealed that he knew the reason behind Martin's decision, but he didn't say it. "Very well." He picked up his breakfast and rose from his seat. "I think I will finish this in my office while you get to work on the Mysterium Xarxes. Do be careful with it."

"I will," Martin assured the man as he walked towards the East Wing. He returned his attention to the book, worried about what would happen next if the secret to entering Camoran's Paradise wasn't inside it. "Here goes nothing."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but this is going to be a short story. Originally I thought that it would be less than ten chapters long by the time I was done, but now I am thinking it will be more in the 10-15 chapter range. After all, this is a story to develop Kole's backstory rather than an entire Oblivion Main Quest story.**

**Time for shameless plug-ins! Go read my story "The Nerevarine Returns" to see what Kole has become. Of course, you won't know _why _until this story is complete, so read this one as well.**

**Thanks to harmoniedusoir for beta-reading this. And thanks to everyone who enjoys my story (or stories). And an even BIGGER thanks to anyone who reviews either story.**


	5. Chapter 5: A Father's Love

**CHAPTER FIVE: A FATHER'S LOVE**

**Baurus**

Three weeks had passed since the death of his wife. Baurus still couldn't believe that Constance was gone, despite having buried her body himself. He had thought that he would be the first of the two to die, considering his job required him to defend the Emperor's life with his own.

_But I failed the Emperor too, didn't I? _

Baurus was more than grateful that he had another chance to prove his worth by being Martin's personal guard. The former priest reminded Baurus of Uriel VII in many ways. Both men were very devoted to their work, often missing meals and sleeping for only a couple of hours at a time to get more done. Both men rarely initiated a conversation, and when they did speak it was with a calm tone, regardless of the topic or situation.

Martin chuckled quietly to himself. It was the same sound that Uriel used to make whenever he had done something that he had believed nearly impossible to accomplish. "I believe I've found the next step in reaching Camoran's Paradise."

Baurus stepped closer to examine the Mysterium Xarxes, the Daedric book of Mehrunes Dagon that Martin had been reading nonstop. The book was, of course, written in the Daedric language, so he couldn't read it himself. _Make me wonder where Martin learned the language. _

"What's the second step?" Baurus asked. He remembered that the first step to retrieving the Amulet of Kings was had been to obtain a Daedric artifact, which was supposedly made with the blood or essence of the Prince that had made it. Mikhail, after having uncovered Mythic Dawn spies hiding out in Bruma, had volunteered to hunt down an artifact.

"According to the text, we need the blood of an Aedra to open a portal to Paradise," Martin said.

Baurus sat down at the table Martin occupied. The feat would have been more difficult had he been in his normal heavy set of Blades armor, but Baurus had decided to try out a lighter set that was made of leather with some steel plating so that he could be faster on his feet. _In case assassins come here for Martin. _"The Aedra? As in the immortal gods that are unable to interact directly with Mundus?"

To his surprise, a grin appeared on Martin's face—though it did look half-hearted. "I suppose their blood will be harder to come across than the Daedra's. I'll ask Jauffre if he has any clue how we could acquire some."

At that moment, the door to the West Wing opened. Baurus turned around, happy to see that it was his young son, Kole, and his dog, Wolfy. The boy immediately rushed over to his father, hopping onto his lap in one swift move; the dog disappeared under the table. "Good morning, Daddy."

Baurus kissed the top of Kole's head. "And good morning to you, too."

The three weeks of mourning had been hard for Baurus to handle, but it would have been next to impossible had Kole not been there. _Or if he had died as well. _For a second, Baurus forgot that his son hadn't escape from the Daedra without injury. But when Kole glanced up with a smile on his face, the scar on his cheek was clear as day. _I suppose the damage could have been far worse. _

Kole quickly turned to Martin. "Good morning, Mr. Septim."

"Mr. Septim?" Martin repeated. "I'm not that much older than your father, you know."

"I'd beg to differ," Baurus said to himself.

"Daddy told me that you were gonna become the new Emperor." Kole said. "So I thought that's what you'd wanna be called."

Martin nodded. "What your father says is true, about me becoming… the Emperor. But if you do not mind, just call me Martin."

"Okay." Kole's attention moved to the Mysterium Xarxes. "What's that book about?"

Baurus didn't know how much Martin would tell him, if anything at all. Kole was a smart boy for his age, but his youthfulness and naivety blinded him from seeing that the Oblivion Crisis as the threat it truly was. Baurus preferred it that way; else Kole might realize that Constance wasn't ever going to arrive.

"It's… about how you can kill the Daedra better," Martin said slowly. _He'll have to work better with coming up with things off the top of his head. It's a skill that Uriel had mastered long before my time. _

"Really?" Kole asked in a fascinated and curious tone. He moved closer to the open book. "Why does it look so funny?"

"It's written in the language of the Daedra," Martin answered.

Kole leaned back with a defeated expression. "I don't know how to read that."

Baurus stared down at his child. "Do you know how to read in the Imperial tongue?" Kole nodded. "Did your… mother teach you that recently?"

Kole shook his head. "Mommy taught me last year."

Baurus mentally kicked himself. He felt terrible for knowing so very little about his own son. It was surprising to learn that Kole could read at such a young age; Baurus, having been an orphan that had lived in the Waterfront District of the Imperial City, hadn't been able to teach himself how to do the same thing until he was eight-years-old.

"Do you have a book that I can read?" Kole asked eagerly. "That can teach me to kill the monsters?"

"From what I hear, you seem to be able to handle yourself well with the monsters quite well," Martin said.

Baurus had forgotten about telling Martin the reason behind Kole's scar. According to Kole, he had received it from a 'monster' that, based on his descritption of it, had likely been a scamp. After it had scratched him with its claws, he had used the wooden sword Baurus had got him two months earlier to kill it.

Still, he thought it might be a good idea for Kole to learn how to fight, especially during a dark time like the one that all of Tamriel was currently in. "Perhaps it's time that the boy learns how to use a proper blade, should the time come that he needs one. The courtyard would be a good place for his first lesson."

"Not a bad idea," Martin said. He closed the Mysterium Xarxes and wrapped it up in the same cloth that Mikhail had covered it with when he had stolen it from the Dagon Shrine. He rose from the table, the book under his arm. "I haven't been outside in a couple of days. Mind if I join you two?"

"Nope," Kole answered faster than Baurus, though the response would have been the same. Kole jumped back down onto the floor and ran towards the exit to Cloud Ruler Temple. Wolfy emerged from underneath the table, following right behind his young master.

Martin smiled. "He's a spry one, isn't he?"

"That he is," Baurus said, finding himself at Martin's side as the two of them headed for the open doors.

The sun was directly overhead, warming the secret base of the Blades more than usual. Kole and Wolfy were standing on the platform in front of the East Wing that was the usual place for combat training. A weapon rack was near it, filled with an assortment of bladed, blunt, and ranged weapons.

He made his way over to the platform, stopping a few paces away from his eager son whose puppy now watched in silence next to Martin. "This one is for you," Baurus said, handing Kole the weapon.

Kole took it with confusion in his eyes. "We aren't going to use real swords?"

"Real swords are much too dangerous for your first lesson. Besides, there are no weapons here suited for a child; they're all too heavy for you."

Confusion was replaced with momentary discouragement, but not even a second later a smile appeared on his face instead. "Did you learn how to fight like this, Daddy?"

Baurus nodded, though it wasn't true. Most of his skills he had gained from his training to become an Imperial guard at the age of sixteen. Rapid promotions in rank had landed him a job as an undercover agent for the Blades. The mission had not only led to his induction into the Blades, but it had also been through it that he had met Constance.

Kole smiled, happy to hear the false similarity between father and son. "Then I'm gonna be as good as you someday!"

_I'm not that good. If I was, your mother and the Emperor would still be alive... _

Kole raised his weapon. "Come on! Let's fight!"

"It's not a healthy tactic to challenge someone head-on," Martin said. "Especially the Daedra. With your small stature, you'd be able to move quicker and strike faster than your opponent—an advantage that a wise warrior would use when unnoticed."

Baurus thought it was odd that a priest of Akatosh was giving fighting advice to Kole. He remembered Mikhail had mentioned how well Martin had been able to handle himself when the two of them had returned to Weynon Prior in the middle of a Mythic Dawn attack. _There's always more to the Septims than what meets the eye. _

"I think that before we jump right in to fighting," Baurus said, "you should first learn how to dodge. Perhaps the only thing more important than subduing your foe is being able to avoid their blade. Or, if you're fighting an archer or a mage using spells from afar, it is important to dodge their projectiles so you can get in close for the kill."

Baurus took one step closer to Kole. "Now, I'm going to run towards you and try to hit you. Anticipate where the blow will be dealt then move accordingly." Baurus though he might have to rephrase his words so that Kole would understand them, but to his surprise the boy nodded. _He's smart for someone so young. _

Baurus ran at Kole with only half his potential speed, his eyes trained on Kole's head. He swung slower than he would in normal combat, half-expecting his son to not realize where he had been aiming for.

But Kole ducked perfectly, moving backwards with his wooden dagger and eyes on Baurus the whole time. _Not bad. _

"Again," said Baurus. This time the Blade moved and struck a little faster, wanting to see how far he could push his son. He swung at Kole's abdomen, but the child easily sidestepped the attack and launched his own, aimed at the small of his father's back.

Baurus had no difficulty in protecting himself, but he was impressed how quickly Kole had retaliated. "Good, son. However, you should look for unprotected areas in your opponent's armor, otherwise your blade would just bounce off of them; some metals can cut through steel though, then you would be in trouble."

"With his speed, I'd say he'll be better off with light armor," Martin said. "Leather or one of the lighter metals would suit him more than armor that would encumber him. Like what you are wearing."

"No doubt," Baurus said, continuing to be impressed by Martin's knowledge of the art of war.

"Again!" Kole said eagerly, his dagger out and ready for another go. _I guess he's already forgotten Martin's advice of not challenging someone directly. _

Baurus accepted the challenge with another increase in speed. He feigned for Kole's legs, tricking his son into jumping, but then moved to his chest instead. Kole moved too slowly to defend himself, causing him to fall to the ground on his back.

"Are you alright?" Baurus asked, kneeling down to his son's side.

Kole rolled onto his feet with expert-like maneuverability. A second later he had his dagger aimed at Baurus's unprotected throat, a sly grin across his face. "Was that good?"

Baurus laughed, pushing the dagger away as he stood up. "That was excellent."

"I agree."

Baurus turned and was pleasantly surprised to see that Mikhail was back. The Nord sat on his black horse a couple of feet from the platform, equipped with a new ebony helmet and greatsword that had been purchased to replace the ones he had lost in the Deadlands. _That must have cost him a great deal of money, but I suppose being the Grand Champion of the Imperial Arena likely pays well. _On his back was another weapon, a staff of sorts.

"You should be happy that your father is being so gentle on you for your first lesson," Mikhail continued. "The drunken bastard that raised me had decided to toss me into the wild completely unarmed for my first lesson."

He waited for Mikhail to reveal it was a joke, but no such revelation came. "Are you serious?" Baurus asked.

Mikhail nodded after he got his helmet off. "I suppose in the long run it proved successful, but that didn't stop me from hating him for that." He dismounted his horse and led it to the stable.

"Am I gonna go out in the wild?" Kole asked.

"No son, you're not going out there. I wouldn't do that that to you, at least not without you being properly trained and armed to handle anything out there.

Mikhail returned a moment later with the staff that had been on his back now in his hands. He stopped in front of Martin and handed it to him. "Here's one Daedric artifact, as you requested."

Martin took the staff with an uneasy expression. "The Wabbajack, if I'm not mistaken."

Mikhail nodded. "You wouldn't believe what I had to do in order to get that."

"I wouldn't have chosen Sheogorath, had I been in your place." Martin examined the peculiar staff with a careful touch, as if expecting it to do something horrible to him. "Azura or one of the more benevolent princes would have been a better choice. The Mad God is rather… unpredictable, to say the least; as are the artifacts bound to him."

"He didn't seem all that bad to me," Mikhail said. "Besides, his shrine was the only one I knew the location of. We don't have the luxury of time, or else I would have gone searching for a closer one."

Baurus decided it was time for him to step in. "All that matters is that we have a Daedric artifact, and that we are one step closer to retrieving the Amulet of Kings."

"You're right," Martin said. "From what I can tell, the artifact will need to be destroyed in order to perform the ritual. Setting back an evil Daedric Prince is better than doing the same to a more neutral one, I suppose."

"Speaking of the ritual, what is the next step in reaching Paradise?" Mikhail asked. "Or have you not been able to decipher anymore of the Mysterium Xarxes?"

"You arrived not a moment too soon; I uncovered the next step not even ten minutes ago."

"And it is…?"

"Obtaining the blood of the Aedra."

Mikhail donned an expression of defeat. "Shor's bones! How are we supposed to find the blood of an Aedra? They don't have artifacts like the Daedra, except for maybe the Amulet of Kings."

"I was hoping that Jauffre can provide a solution to our problem," Martin said. "But first we came out here for some fighting lessons."

The defeat in his eyes lessened as a grin formed on his face. He looked to Kole and said, "lessons that seem unnecessary, from what I saw. Quick little bugger, aren't you?"

Kole smiled. "Daddy said I fight good."

"You fight _well_," Baurus corrected him. "Though that doesn't mean we won't have more training sessions in the future. I do hope that you won't have to put your training to the test anytime soon."

"Should he have to, he'll need a blade. Next time I go to Bruma, I'll hire a blacksmith to make him one. Elven metal, most likely, since it is the lightest," Mikhail said.

"You don't have to do that," Baurus told him. "He's my son; I should be the one to provide for him."

"You can provide him food and shelter," Mikhail said. "Let a Nord handle the weaponry."

Baurus saw that this was an argument he wasn't going to win, so he elected to relent. "If you insist. Kole, what do you say?"

"Thank you, Mikhail." Kole pretended to be in the thick of battle, using his wooden dagger like an instrument of death, killing any and all imaginary foes that dared to attack him. "I can't wait to kill more monsters!"

"Perhaps I'll take you on a trip to the Deadlands, where the monsters live, once you're older," Mikhail said.

Baurus was about to interject about how horrible an idea that was but Martin spoke before he could. "Hopefully the Oblivion Crisis will be over long before he comes of age. We should go to Jauffre's office and speak to him about the blood of the Aedra."

"Baurus and I will meet you there," Mikhail said. "I need to speak with him privately."

Martin nodded and started towards the entrance to Cloud Ruler Temple. Baurus wasn't too keen on the idea of leaving Martin alone, but he was much safer he than his father had been in a Mythic Dawn-infested sewer. "Go with him, Kole. I'll be inside in a bit."

Kole scurried to catch up to Martin, apparently forgetting that he still had the sparring weapon in his hand. Wolfy ran with him. _A doubt I could have found a more loyal companion for him. _

Mikhail waited until all three of them were inside the temple before he spoke. "When do you plan to tell Kole the truth?"

"The truth about what?" Baurus asked, desperately wanting to avoid the topic.

"Where does he think his mother is?" Mikhail's eyes revealed that he was trying to tread as careful as he could without backing down.

"I told him that Constance was visiting her sister in Chorrol to see if it would be safer for the both of them there than here."

"And how long do you plan to keep up that lie?"

Baurus wanted to keep it up forever, not only to protect Kole from the truth, but also himself. "Until I decide to reveal what really happened."

"I think you should tell him now. If I were in his place, I'd not want to be lied to."

"But—"

"He's a smart lad; he'll realize something is amiss eventually. What would be worse: to learn that your mother is dead, or to know that your father lied to your face about it?"

Baurus wanted to turn around and leave Mikhail in the courtyard, but he knew that his words rang with wisdom. "Give me some time. If I think it is for the best, I'll tell him."

Mikhail sighed. "I suppose that's all I can ask for. Let's go; the sooner we get the blood of the Aedra, should such a thing exist, the sooner we can get our Septim on the throne."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow. Took me quite a while to give this story an actual update. Real life can be a drag, especially when it requires me to write a paper in English class. Oh well. I'll try to return to my normal schedule of updating my stories at least once every two weeks.**

**I am sending out a request for a beta-reader for, preferably, both of my stories. I'd prefer someone with experience doing it, but fear of numerous spelling and grammatical errors does not make this a requirement. Should you find any errors (which I am sure there are some), let me know so that they can be fixed.**

**Leave me a review, if you don't mind. They inspire me to continue on with both stories.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Chorrol Dilemma

**CHAPTER SIX: THE CHORROL DILEMMA**

**Jauffre**

The reports Jauffre was reading were troubling, to say the least. Oblivion Gates had been mostly opening in rural areas, excluding the first one outside of Kvatch. Now, according to the information that had arrived earlier that morning, many were starting to open closer and closer to the larger cities, especially in southern Cyrodiil. Bravil was in the most immediate danger with a gate half an hour from its walls. _I'll have to send a detachment of Blades to start handling these; Mikhail would be best to lead them, what with him having the most experience in the Deadlands, but he is still collecting the blood of the Daedra._

A light knocking on his office door startled Jauffre. He slid the reports under the heaping pile of papers on his desk and combed down what little hair he had, hoping that he looked at least somewhat professional. "Come in."

The door opened and Martin entered, followed by Kole and the boy's gray pup, which, if he recalled, was named Wolfy. Jauffre expected Baurus to be close behind but he wasn't. This struck Jauffre as odd since he hadn't seen the two of them separated almost at all in the three weeks that Baurus had been back. _I hope nothing bad has happened. _

Jauffre waved his hand to the chairs in front of his desk, prompting Martin and Kole to sit down. Kole had one of the wooden sparring weapons in his hand; Martin had the Mysterium Xarxes and a staff Jauffre had never seen before in his. "I wasn't expecting any visits so early this morning," Jauffre said. "Is there something wrong."

"No," Martin said. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and thick trousers instead of his normal priest robes. "Quite the contrary, actually. I've uncovered the next step in creating a portal to Camoran's Paradise earlier this morning."

"That's great news," Jauffre said. "We'll find someone to collect whatever needs to be collected. Hopefully Mikhail will return soon with the—"

"Blood of the Daedra?" Martin asked. "He just arrived a few minutes ago with this." He placed the staff on Jauffre's desk. "The Wabbajack, a Daedric artifact created by Sheogorath."

Jauffre scooted his chair back nervously. Years of living in Weynon Prior had strengthened his faith in the Nine Divines, but in turn had made him even more cautious of anything Daedra-related. The Oblivion Crisis hadn't exactly helped with his paranoia about the topic, neither did Martin reading from the book written by the Daedric Prince of Destruction.

"Ahh... well... good." Jauffre cleared his throat, attempting to also clear his nerves. It didn't work. "We'll have to make sure we put it somewhere nice and safe... and out of sight."

"The second item need to open the portal is the counterpart to the first," Martin began, pretending for Jauffre's sake not to notice that the Breton's hands were getting clammy. "The blood of a Divine. I was hoping that you would have an idea about how we could obtain such a thing, as I have none."

Mikhail and Baurus entered the room a second after Martin had stopped talking. Baurus moved to behind the chair that Kole sat in while Mikhail leaned against the wall to Jauffre's left.

"Perhaps the translation is more literal than we think," Jauffre said, an idea forming in his mind as he spoke. "The armor of your ancestor, Tiber Septim, was hidden inside the ancient tombs of Sancre Tor. The Blades thought it an appropriate place, since it was there that he found the Amulet of Kings. I'm sure that, even after all this time, there would be traces of his blood on the armor."

"But would that blood be good?" Mikhail asked. "The blood on that armor would belong to Talos, the mortal. Not Talos, the Ninth Divine."

Jauffre shrugged. "The only other Aedric artifact I can readily think of are the Gauntlets of Stendarr, which are supposedly stuck to the floor of the chapel in Chorrol. They had once belonged to Pelinal Whitestrake, the Shezzarine warrior that fought as Alessia's champion during the human rebellion against the elves. Pilgrims from all across Tamriel have tried to lift them, but known have yet to have been successful. Hopefully the gods will believe now is an acceptable time to allow them to be picked up."

"I've seen those gauntlets before, when we would visit my wife's sister in Chorrol," said Baurus with a small amount of despair in his voice. "Your words are true; they would not budge no matter how hard I pulled. I think we should just go for the armor instead, and not fail with the gauntlets then have to double back to Sancre Tor. Time, as we all know, is not a luxury we can afford."

"I agree," Martin said. "I'd rather put my faith into my ancestor's armor than heavy gloves."

Jauffre sighed, having remembered a small detail that had slipped his mind. "Whoever goes to gather the blood of the Aedra will have to go to Chorrol, one way or another. A key to open the tombs of Sancre Tor has been handed down from one Grandmaster to another. I had brought it with me to Weynon Priory and, in the chaos of the Mythic Dawn attack and the theft of the Amulet of Kings, had left it there. The tomb was enchanted to only unlock with that key, and that key only."

"Could the Mythic Dawn have taken it?" Mikhail asked.

"I have no clue," Jauffre admitted. "I thought the hiding spot I had chosen for the amulet had been secure. All of us being here today proves that wasn't the case. If they were looking for it, I'm sure they would've found it."

"Why not make a new key?" Kole asked innocently, likely having understood very little of the conversation. Had the child been older, Jauffre would have been worried about speaking Blade secrets in front of him. _He'll likely forget all of this as he grows older. __  
_

Baurus lightly patted his son on the shoulders. "It's not that simple, Kole. The door will open only to the original key, unless we could manage to recreate the magic on a new key." He looked up at Jauffre curiously. "That isn't an option, is it?"

"Sadly, no. We would need to bring a mage to Sancre Tor with a key that would naturally fit in the door. Getting such a key would take a lot of time, as would finding a mage skilled enough to do it."

"Then it looks like Chorrol is our destination," Mikhail said. He managed a small smile. "_My _destination is probably more accurate."

Baurus shook his head. "I will go with you. I have some business to take care of in Chorrol, as long as you don't need me here, Martin."

"I understand," Martin said. "I'm sure I will be safe considering there are two dozen Blades here at almost all times."

Kole looked up at his father. "Can I go with you, Daddy?"

"You'll need to stay here. The roads aren't safe for a young one."

The boy obviously didn't like the decision, judging by the frown on his face, but Kole didn't argue. Instead, he nodded reluctantly. "I'll train everyday until you and Mommy return."

"Wait, what?" Baurus asked, confused.

"You said Mommy was visiting Aunt Becka in Chorrol," Kole reminded him. "Aren't you going there to bring her here?"

Baurus gulped. Jauffre had advised to the younger Blade that he should tell his son what happened to Constance, so he didn't feel bad that he was now caught in his web of lies. Mikhail, who had agreed with Jauffre, had a more forgiving expression than Jauffre could offer.

"I..." Baurus's voice trailed off. "I'll try to son. I will."

Both Mikhail and Jauffre shook their heads in disappointment. Martin simply looked away.

It was quiet for a while. Eventually Mikhail pushed himself off of the wall and headed for the door. "I'm gonna grab a quick bite to eat. Meet me by the gates when you are ready to head out."

"Wait up," Baurus said. "Kole and I will join you."

The two Blades, the Redguard child, and his dog all left Jauffre's office a moment later. Martin opened his mouth, but he closed it again, deciding that whatever he was going to say to Jauffre wasn't that important. He picked up the Wabbajack—much to Jauffre's relief—and left the office as well.

"Kids..." Jauffre sighed, part of him wishing that he would have spent the last years of his life in Weynon Priory in peace and solitude. The other part, however, enjoyed being back in the game. _Life in the Priory might have been safe, but it was dull. It's a shame that there had to be a Daedra invasion to __reinvigorate this old man. _

With nothing better to do, he pulled the reports back out and began sorting how many Blades would be sent to the cities in the most immediate danger.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: A shorter chapter this time. Mostly this was a filler between the Blood of the Daedra and the Blood of the Divines quests, but I also wanted to introduce the Knights of the Nine DLC as soon as I could. More about the Divine Crusader will be revealed in the next chapter.**

**Until next time, leave me a review. Perhaps detailing your favorite thing about this chapter, or any of them for that matter.**


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